Deflection shield for lawn sprinkler

ABSTRACT

A water sprinkler deflection shield fabricated from sheet metal has an integral appendage formed from the same metal sheet, which extends into contact with the body of the sprinkler and is secured thereto for mounting the deflection shield in place. The shield serves to intercept jets of water which would otherwise be deflected by the impulse arm of the sprinkler toward an area outside the arc of sprinkler rotation. An adjustable, spring-held diffusion screw is threaded through the shield, and serves to fragment the errant jets of water.

Umted States Patent [72] Inventor Edwin M. Heiberger 2,816,798 12/1957Royer 239/230 806 Marilyn Ave., Baldwin, N.Y. 11510 3,070,314 12/1962Warren 239/230 fil- N0 2 3553 FOREIGN PATENTS r e e Patented June 1,19."604,762 5/1960 Italy 239/233 Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr.Assistant Examiner-Michael Y. Mar 541 DEFLECTION SHIELD FOR LAWNSPRINKLER ArwmeyEdward R y 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 239/230, ST A water sprinlder d fl ti shield f b i t d239/233 from sheet metal has an integral appendage formed from the [51]Int. Cl B05b 3/02 same metal sheet which extends into Contact with thebody f 1 Field Search 239/230, the sprinkler and is secured thereto formounting the deflec- 23 233 tion shield in place. The shield serves tointercept jets of water [56] References Cited which would otherwise bedeflected by the impulse arm of the sprinkler toward an area outside thearc of sprinkler rotation. UNITED STATES PATENTS An adjustable,spring-held diffusion screw is threaded through 2,256,737 9/1941Englehart 239/230 the shield, and serves to fragment the errantjets ofwater.

PATENTEB JUN Han 3,581,994

SHEET 1 [IF 2 F G. l

INVENTOR. EDWIN M. HEIBERGER AT TORNE Y for this purpose.

DEFLECTION SHIELD FOR LAWN SPRINKLER This invention relates generally tolawn sprinklers, and particularly concerns an improved deflection shieldfor lawn sprinklers of the pulsating type.

In the lawn sprinkler art it is conventional for the sprinkler to rotateautomatically for distributing water over an arcuate area of grass. Theenergy for rotating the sprinkler is normally provided by the stream ofwater itself as it passes through the sprinkler device. In the pulsatingor impulse type of lawn sprinkler, the'water is sprayed in interruptedjets, and the sprinkler head is turned by the periodic action of thewaterjets upon a swinging impulse bar. Sprinklers of this type arenormally provided with a mechanism for setting desired limits to the arcof sprinkler head rotation, so that the water will not be sprayed uponbuildings, paved areas and the like. During operation of the sprinkler,the swinging impulse bar periodically intercepts the jet of water and isimparted with a swinging force thereby, in such .a manner that theimpulse bar strikes the body of the sprinkler head with an impact whichturns the sprinkler head through an incremental movement between the setlimits.

One of the problems with this type of sprinkler resides in the fact thatwhen the emergingjet ofwater impinges upon the impulse arm, it isdeflected by the arm toward an area which is outside the desired waterdistribution limits. As a result, water may be sprayed againstbuildings, walks, automobiles and the like. This not only causesconsiderable inconvenience, but also results in waste of water, which insome parts of the country has become a precious resource.

Attempts have been made to eliminate this errant secondary spray byfabricating the impulse bar in tubular form or so shaping the bar thatit directs the secondary spray into the desired sprinkling zone. Suchdevices require costly tooling and machining which increases themanufacturing cost of the sprinkler device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an incrementallydriven pulsating type lawn sprinkler incorporating improved means forpreventing or minimizing the normally inherent secondary spray outsidethe desired spraying zone.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lawn sprinkler ofthe character described in which the errant sccon dary spray iseliminated by means of a deflection shield which is constantlypositioned to divert said secondary spray into the desired sprayingarea.

Still anotherobject of the invention is the provision of a lawnsprinkler of the character described in which the deflection shield isformed with an integral mounting appendage which can be mounted on thespray head of the sprinkler without requiring screws or other separatemounting devices, and in which the deflection shield and mountingappendage may be formed as a single stamping at a low manufacturingcost. Y

A further object of the invention is the provision of a lawn sprinklerof the character described in which the mounting appendage of thedeflection shield is so formed that it also serves as the element forreceiving the impact of the impulsing member, thereby eliminating thenecessity of providing separate costly elements which are conventionallyprovided In accordance with the invention there is provided in a watersprinkler of theimpulse type a deflection shield comprising a flat platefabricated of sheet material, and an integral mounting appendage forsaid plate. The mounting appendage comprises a flat strip having amounting opening at its free end sized to be clamped by the sprinklerhead nozzle against the body of the sprinkler head. The mountingappendage in mounted position is adapted to hold the deflection shieldin a downwardly inclined attitude in a position to intercept errant jetsof water which are deflected by the impulse arm of the sprinkler. Adiffusion element, preferably in the form of a screw, is mounted on thedeflection shield in position to intercept and diffuse said errantjetsof water.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring thecourse of the following specification when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a lawn sprinkler made in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showingthe sprinkler head parts in position to produce a full stroke of theimpulse bar for clockwise rotation of the sprinkler head;

FIG. 3 is a partial section similar to that of FIG. 2, but showing thesprinkler head parts in' their opposite position to produce a partialstroke of the impulse bar and counterclockwise rotation of the sprinklerhead;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the lawn sprinkler, as viewed fromthe side opposite to that of FIG. I; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the lawn sprinkler.

Referring in detail to the drawings, there is shown a water sprinkler 10of the impulse type which comprises a stationary base portion 12 uponwhich a sprinkler head 14 is rotatably mounted in the conventionalmanner.

The base member 12 is made in the form of a hollow metal tube which isformed with external threading 16 sized to engage with cooperatingthreading on a water outlet fixture (not shown) embedded in or restingupon the lawn. The base member 12 is also formed with an integralhexagonal surface 18 which permits a wrench or other tool to be used forcoupling the base member to the water outlet fixture.

The sprinkler head 14 includes a hollow body 20 from which depends atubular stem 22 constituting the water conduit. The tubular stem 22extends through the interior of base member 12 to mount the sprinklerhead 14 rotatably on said base member. Below the base member 12, thestem 22 is formed with an enlarged circular flange 24 which prevents thestem from being withdrawn from the base member and also serves as thewater inlet for the sprinkler head. An annular gasket 26 for watersealing surrounds the stem 22 between the flange 24 and the base member12.

The tubular stem or water conduit 22 communicates through the hollowbody 20 with an inclined outlet bore 28 (FIG. 2) having internalthreading 30 which receives the ex ternal threading 32 of an outletnozzle 34. It will be appreciated that when the sprinkler base portion12 is screwed into the aforementioned water outlet fixture, and thewater is turned on, the water enters flange portion 24 and travelsthrough hollow body 20 to outlet bore 28, being emitted as ahigh-pressure stream from nozzle 34.

The sprinkler head 14 also includes an offset boss 36 formed integrallywith and extending above the hollow body 20. Formed integrally with theboss 36 is one leg 38 ofa bridge member 40, the other leg 42 of which isintegral with the body 20in the region thereof adjacent the nozzle 34.

The incremental rotation of the sprinkler head 14 is accomplished in theusual manner by repeated actuation of a weighted impulse bar 44 which ispivotally mounted upon a vertical pin 46. The pin 46 in turn issupported between the sprinkler head body 20 and the bridge member 40which is spaced above and extends over the top of the sprinkler body. Alight coil spring 48 encircles the pin 46, one end of said spring 48being anchored on the bridge member 40 and the other end of said springbeing connected to the impulse bar 44, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The spring 458 resiliently biases the pivoted impulse bar 44 in theclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2, so that the bar 44 normallyengages stop means in a manner to be described hereinafter.

The impulse bar 44 comprises a pair of arms 50 and 52 located onopposite sides of the vertical mounting pin 46. The arm 50 is anactuating arm and has a hollow interior defined by opposed vanes 54 and56 which are offset from each other, as shown in FIG. 2. The oppositearm 52 is solid and weighted, and has a striker lug 58 dependingtherefrom, as best seen in FIG. 4.

The impulse bar 44 is normally held by tension of spring 48 in aposition in which the hollow interior of its actuating arm 50 is locatedforwardly of and in alignment with the outlet nozzle 34. Water underpressure passing through the tubular stem 22 emerges in a high-pressurejet from the outlet nozzle 34, passes through the hollow interior of theactuating arm 50 and strikes the vane 56 as indicated by the arrows 60in FIG. 2. The outer end of vane 56 is so inclined that the force of thewater jet impinging thereon causes the impulse bar 44 to be rotated in acounterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 62 in FIG. 2 untilthe impulse bar reaches the brokenline position shown.

The broken-line position of the impulse bar 44 in FIG. 2 represents theend of the counterclockwise travel of said impulse member and isdetermined by the coil spring 48 which has become fully compressed. Thetension of the compressed coil spring 48 now reverses the direction ofmovement of the impulse member and causes the weighted member to swingrapidly in a clockwise direction until it reaches the full-line positionof FIG. 2 and strikes a fixed portion of the body with a sharp blow.This blow causes the entire sprinkler head 14 to turn through a shortangular increment in a clockwise direction about the stationary base 12so that the direction of the water jet is changed. At the same time, theactuating arm 50 has passed through the jet and is again in thefull-line position of FIG. 2 wherein it receives the jet through itshollow interior, and the impingement of the jet on the vane 56 causesthe impulse bar 44 to again swing in the direction of arrow 62 andcompress spring 48. This cycle is repeated continuously in rapidsuccession with the nozzle turned progressively around the axis ofthebase 12 in a series of short steps. As a result, the water spray isturned continuously in a stepped fashion around the sprinkler and thewaterjets are in the nature of interrupted pulses caused by theactuating arm 50 cutting successively through the jet.

If no further means were added, the nozzle would travel continuously ina clockwise direction describing complete circles so that the spraywould cover a complete circular area around the sprinkler 10. It iscustomary, however, for the sprinkler to include adjustable stop meansto limit the spray area to a selected segment of a circle, and for thispurpose, means are provided to cause the spray head to reciprocate inopposite directions, that is, to reverse its direction of turningmovement each time it engages the stop means. Such stop means andreversing means are shown in the drawings and will now be described.

A pivot pin 64 is secured to and depends from the boss 36 of thesprinkler body 20. Pivotally mounted upon the pin 64 is a chock 66 whichcan assume either one of two alternative angular positions to determinethe direction of rotation of the sprinkler head 14 relative to the basemember 12. Chock 66 comprises a pair of arms 68 and 70 set at an obliqueangle to each other. The arm 68 is formed with an upstanding lug 72which is located to serve as a stop for the swinging movement of theimpulse bar 44. In the inoperative position of the chock '66 illustratedin FIG. 2, the chock 66 has been pivoted to its clockwise limit, whereinthe arm 70 abuts against the sprinkler body 20. In this position aclearance space is provided between the lug 72 and the sprinkler body20, through which can pass the depending striker lug 58 on the weightedarm 52 of the impulse bar 44. The chock can also be pivoted to theoperative position shown in FIG. 3, wherein the arm 68 abuts against thesprinkler body 20 and the lug 72 is located in the path ofswingingmovement ofthe depending striker lug 58.

Pivoting movement of the chock 66 between its operative and inoperativepositions is controlled by a yoke-shaped regulator member 74 which ispivotally mounted on pin 64 beneath the chock 66. The regulator member74 is independently turnable upon pin 64, but is connected to chock 66in a toggle relationship by means of an overcenter coil spring 76, oneend of which is inserted into anopening 78 in member 74 and the otherend of which is inserted in opening 80 in chock 66. The regulator member74 and chock 66 are thus linked together for mutually opposite rotationabout their common pivot pin 64.

The yoke-shaped regulator member 74 has a pair of spaced arms 82 and 84located to engage the sprinkler head body 20 alternately, so as to limitthe pivoting movement of the regulator member 74. Also mounted on theregulator member 74 is a bracket 86 formed of spring wire and havingspaced side arms 88 and 90, the free ends of which are bentperpendicularly inward and received respectively in vertically spacedapertures 92 and 94 in the regulator member 74, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4and 5. The forward ends of the arms 88 and terminate in a dependingU-shaped leg 96.

The depending leg 96 cooperates with a pair of adjustablelimit-determining elements in the nature of arcuate spring clips 98 and100 which frietionally embrace the upper portion of the stationary base12 and have respective, radially projecting bent ends 102a, 102b, and10411, 104!) serving as stop members. The clips 98 and 100 may beselectively turned relative to one another on the stationary base 12 tovary the spacing between the stop members 102a, 102!) and 104a, 104b,thereby adjusting the degree of angular travel of the spray head.

In the adjusted position of the spring clips 98 and I00 shown in thedrawings and best seen in FIG. 5, the stop members 102a and 104 arespaced apart angularly by such a distance as to permit reciprocatingtravel of the sprinkler head nozzle 34 through an angle of approximately90. The cycle of operation thereupon proceeds in the following manner:

With the parts ofthe reversing mechanism set in the manner shown inFIGS. I and 2, the arm 82 of the regulator member 74 abuts the sprinklerhead body 20, and the overcenter spring 76 urges the chock 66 to itsinoperative position in which its arm 70 engages the body 20 and the arm68 is spaced from the body 20. In this spaced position of arm 70, theupstanding lug 72 thereon is located outside of the path of movement ofthe depending striker lug 58 carried by the impulse bar 44. The impulsebar 44 can therefore turn freely through its full swinging movement aspreviously described. Thus, when the jet of water emitted from thenozzle 34 passes that the the hollow interior of the actuating arm 50and engages the vane 56, the impulse bar 44 is rotated in acounterclockwise direction for a full stroke, that is until its initialkinetic energy is dissipated by the tightening of the coil spring 48. Inthis full stroke, the striker lug 58 passes by the outwardly spacedupstanding lug 72, in the manner indicated in FIG. 2. At the end of theoutward stroke, the impulse bar 44 comes to a halt and is returned toits starting position with considerable force by the tensioned coilspring 48, so that the bar 44 strikes a fixed portion of the sprinklerhead body 20 with sufficient impact to turn the entire sprinkler head ina clockwise direction through a short increment of travel.

These full outward strokes and return strokes are repeated successivelyuntil the sprinkler head 14 has turned clockwise to such a position thatthe depending leg 96 of spring bracket 86 strikes the stop member l04b.Such engagement causes the leg 96 to turn the connected regulator member74 to the position shown in FIG. 3, in which the arm 80 engages thesprinkler head body 20. The toggle action of the overcenter spring 76then snaps the chock 66 to its operative position in which its arm 68abuts the body 20 and the upstanding lug 72 is located in the path ofmovement of the striker lug 58.

With the chock 66 in its operative position, a reverse movement of thesprinkler head 14 now occurs. Thus, when the jet of water passingthrough the interior or the actuating arm 50 engages vane 56 to propelthe impulse bar in a counterclockwise direction, the impulse barcompletes only a partial stroke, determined by the striker lug 58engaging the upstanding lug 72 which is now in its path. This engagementtakes place with an impact of sufficient force to turn the entiresprinkler head in a counterclockwise direction and the spring 48 thenreturns the impulse bar 44 to its original starting position inalignment with nozzle 34. Because of the partial outward stroke, thecoil spring 48 is not greatly tensioned and the impulse bar 44 is notreturned with enough force to move the sprinkler head in acounterclockwise direction to any appreciable extent. Thus, thesprinkler head is stepped clockwise in short increments caused by'theimpact of the striker lug 58 against the upstanding lug 72. Thisclockwise movement is continued until the depending leg 96 of springbracket 86 strikes the stop member 102a and turns the chock :66 to itsinoperative position, whereby the full-stroke cycle is repeated and thesprinkler head again reverses its direction of travel. In this manner,the sprinkler head turns repeatedly back and forth between the stopmembers 102a and 1104b until the sprinkling operation is concluded andthe water shut off.

Regardless of whether the sprinkler head 14 is traveling in thecounterclockwise direction or in the clockwise direction, at each cycleof pivoting movement of the impulse bar 44, the actuating arm 50 passesthrough the stream of water just be fore it arrives at its startingposition and again as it begins its outward pivoting movement, propelledby the force of the stream against the vane 56. During these periods ofcutting through the waterstream, as well as during the period in whichthe actuating arm 50 is in alignment with the stream of water, thewaterjet emerging from the nozzle 34 is deflected in a new direction, asindicated by the arrows 60 in FIG. 2. Such deflection of the waterjetcauses the water to spray momentarily in a direction outside the arealimits defined by the stop mem hers, with the result that buildings,walks, automobiles and even people may be sprayed. To prevent this,there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, adeflection shield 78 stamped from a piece of sheet metal stock andmounted in the path of the deflected water spray to prevent this sprayfrom landing outside the desired spray area.

The deflection shield 106 comprises a rectangular metal plate formedwith an integral mounting appendage 108- stamped and bent from the samepiece of sheet metal. The mounting appendage 108 is of S-shape, havingan arm 108a extending angularly from the shield 106, a mounting arm l08bparallel to and spaced from the arm 108a, and an intermediate arm l08cextending perpendicularly between the arms 108a and 108b and connectingthe latter. The'intermediate arm I080 defines a lateral shoulder at theouter end of the mounting arm I08b for a purpose to be presentlyexplained.

As shown'in FIG. 2, the mounting arm 10% has a threaded aperture 110sized to receive the external threading 32 of outlet nozzle 34. Inassembling the sprinkler, the mounting arm 108b 170 is screwed upon thenozzle 34 and the latter is then mounted in the threaded outlet bore 28of body 20, to clamp the mounting arm 1b securely in mounted position.In this position, the deflection shield 106 is spaced rearwardly of andin alignment with the actuating arm 50 and is inclined downwardly fromthe vertical. It will thus be observed that the deflection shield is sopositioned and angularly oriented that when the jet of water passesthrough the interior of mounting arm 108b, strikes the vane 56 and isdiverted as a spray in the direction of the arrows 60, as shown in FIG.2, this spray strikes the deflection shield 106, and, owing to thedownward slope of the latter, is deflected in a downward directionwithin the spray area for.which the sprinkler is set.

The effectiveness of the deflection shield 106, in preventing water frombeing diverted outside the selected spray zone, is increased by theaddition of a diffusion element I12 which projects perpendicularly fromthe shield 106 toward the acmachine screw having a threaded shank 114which is engaged with a tapped hole I16 in the center of the deflectionshield 106. One end of the threaded shank 114 protrudes from the shield106 toward the actuating arm 50 to accomplish the diffusion actiondescribed above. At the opposite end of the threaded shank is the usualhead 118 having a kerf 120 to permit simple screwdriver adjustment ofthe element H2 relative to the shield 106 until optimum diffusion actionis achieved. In order to prevent the threaded shank 114 from creepingrelative to the deflection shield I06 under the influence of therepeated impacts of the actuating arm 50, a coil spring 122 surroundsthe outer end of the threaded shank H4 and is in compression between thescrew head H8 and the deflection shield 106 to maintain a tight threadedengagement between the shank 114! and the tapped aperture 116.

The mounting appendage I08 of deflection shield 106 is so constructedthat it serves the additional function of serving as the element whichreceives the impulsing impact of the actuating arm 50 during thefull-stroke cycle. For this purpose, the intermediate arm 1108c ofappendage 108 forms with arm lltlfia a bight or shoulder which isstructurally reinforced for receiving the impact of the impulse bar 44.When the arm I081) is clamped firmly in mounted position by the threadedportion of outlet nozzle 34, the shoulder is positioned precisely in thepath of the vane 54 of actuating arm 50 to receive the impact of thelatter during the full-stroke cycle when the impulse bar 44 is rotatedby the return action of coil spring 48, to produce the incrementalcounterclockwise movement of the sprinkler head, as previouslydescribed.

In sprinkler devices presently available commercially, a relativelyexpensive separate milled rod is employed as a stop to receive theimpulsing impact of the impulse bar. It will be appreciated that thedeflector shield I06 and its mounting appendage 108, being made ofasingle stamping, is considerably simpler and more economical tomanufacture and serves the dual purpose of diverting undesirablesecondary spray as well as serving as the impact-receiving member.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious that numerous additions, changesand omissions may be made in such embodiment without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a water sprinkler of the pulsating type having a stationary base,a sprinkler head turnably mounted on said base, a water-ejection nozzlemember screw mounted on said sprinkler head, and an impulse bar pivotedon said sprinkler head against which the ejected water impinges toimpulse said bar for incrementally rotating said sprinkler head,water-deflection means arranged to intercept errantjets of water whichare deflected by said impulse oar, said water-deflection meanscomprising a deflection shield fabricated from sheet material, and amounting appendage integral with said deflection shield and fabricatedfrom the same sheet material, said appendage having a mounting aperturesized to i receive said nozzle member and to be clamped thereby uponsaid sprinkler head when said nozzle member is screw mounted on thelatter, said mounting appendage and deflection shield being arrangedrelative to each other in such a manner as to position the deflectionshield in the path of the errant jets deflected by said impulse bar andin a downwardly inclined attitude whereby the intercepted errant jetsare diverted downwardly in a direction opposite to their originaldirection.

2. Water-deflection means according to claim 1 in which said impulse baris spring loaded to produce successive and periodic reciprocating cyclesof pivoting movement, each cycle including an initial stroke in responseto impingement of the ejected water thereon, and a return stroke underspring load, said mounting appendage in its mounted position beinginterposed in the path of the return stroke of said impulse bar, wherebyto receive an impact therefrom to rotate the sprinkler headincrementally in one direction.

3. Water-deflection means according to claim 2 in which mountingappendage is curved substantially at the point of impact of said impulsebar, whereby to resist damage from such impact.

4. Water-deflection means according to claim l in which a waterdiffusion element projects perpendicularly from the surscrew memberincludes a threaded body terminating in an enlarged head, and a coilspring surrounding said threaded body and in compression between saidhead and said deflection shield to tighten the threaded engagementbetween said body and said shield, to thereby impede vibratorydislocation of said screw member.

1. In a water sprinkler of the pulsating type having a stationary base,a sprinkler head turnably mounted on said base, a water-ejection nozzlemember screw mounted on said sprinkler head, and an impulse bar pivotedon said sprinkler head against which the ejected water impinges toimpulse said bar for incrementally rotating said sprinkler head,water-deflection means arranged to intercept errant jets of water whichare deflected by said impulse bar, said water-deflection meanscomprising a deflection shield fabricated from sheet material, and amounting appendage integral with said deflection shield and fabricatedfrom the same sheet material, said appendage having a mounting aperturesized to receive said nozzle member and to be clamped thereby upon saidsprinkler head when said nozzle member is screw mounted on the latter,said mounting appendage and deflection shield being arranged relative toeach other in such a manner as to position the deflection shield in thepath of the errant jets deflected by said impulse bar and in adownwardly inclined attitude whereby the intercepted errant jets arediverted downwardly in a direction opposite to their original direction.2. Water-deflection means according to claim 1 in which said impulse baris spring loaded to produce successive and periodic reciprocating cyclesof pivoting movement, each cycle including an initial stroke in responseto impingement of the ejected water thereon, and a return stroke underspring load, said mounting appendage in its mounted position beinginterposed in the path of the return stroke of said impulse bar, wherebyto receive an impact therefrom to rotate the sprinkler headincrementally in one direction.
 3. Water-deflection means according toclaim 2 in which mounting appendage is curved substantially at the pointof impact of said impulse bar, whereby to resist damage from suchimpact.
 4. Water-deflection means according to claim 1 in which a waterdiffusion element projects perpendicularly from the surface of saiddeflection shield which intercepts said errant jets, said diffusionelement being located in the path of said errant jets, whereby tofragment the jets of water incident thereon.
 5. Water-deflection meansaccording to claim 4 in which said water-diffusion element comprises ascrew member adjustably threaded through said shield and protrudingtherefrom.
 6. Water-diffusion means according to claim 5 in which saidscrew member includes a threaded body terminating in an enlarged head,and a coil spring surrounding said threaded body and in compressionbetween said head and said deflection shield to tighten the threadedengagement between said body and said shield, to thereby impedevibratory dislocation of said screw member.